Reactor tube



July 25, 1944. B. M. BECKER REACTOR TUBE Filed Feb. 11, 1942 FIG. 2

INVENTOR BERNARD M. BECKER ATTORNEY Psaed July 2s, 1944 PATENT caricia4 L nEAcrn TUBE Bernard M. Becker, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Universal il Products Company, Chicago, lll.,

a corporation of Delaware limitation February4 11, 1942, serial No. 430,509 6 claims. (ci. za-ezss) The invention relates to a reactor adapted to use in conducting reactions of' the type employing a bed of solid granular contact material, reagent or catalyst and is -more particularly directed t'o an improved form of tubular element for use in reactors .of this general class.

In the dehydrogena'tion of butanes to butylenes and in the dehydrogenation of butanes and/or butylenes to butadiene, low operating pressures are required. 'This is also true of many other chemical reactions employing a catalyst or a mass of contact material'for increasing intimacy of contact between the reactants. For this reason, lowvpressure drop. through the reactor is essential since it represents a much greater percentage of the desired operating pressure than whenoperating `pressures of. a high order are employed. In such operations employing one or more beds of granular contact material or catalyst through which the reactants and resulting conversion products -are passed, a major portion of the pressure drop or differential in pressure between the inlet and outlet of the reactor is due to the resistance to flow offered by the-bed of contact material.

One of the primary purposes of the present. invention -is to provide an improved. tubular reactor in which relatively low pressure drop is encountered from the inlet to the outlet thereof. 'I'his is accomplished by providing elongated inlet and outlet conduits positioned within the tubular member wherein the catalyst or contact material cetalystbed 11i-heated state and the imei re.' sulting in a highertemperature in the stream o1' outgoing. reaction products than that in the 'stream of incomingreactants. In the absence of provisions to-'the contrary, heat is therefore transferred from the incoming to the outgoing stream or vice versa and from the incoming or Asa special feature of the invention to-overcome the aforementioned Vdiillculty, I provide asheath surrounding the inlet and outlet conduits with heat-insulating material disposed therein to obviate or materially reduce the transfer of heat between the inlet and outlet conduits themselves n l and also between said conduits and 'the bedof is disposed, with provision for directing the reactants from the inlet conduit, at a multiplicity of points along its length, into the catalyst bed through which they now about the inlet--and out,- let conduits and wherefrom resulting uidreactants pass into the. outlet conduit at a multiaddressed, the incoming reactants and outgoing reaction products fl`ow in parallel paths within the inlet and outlet conduits Awhich distribute the reactants to the bed of catalyst or contact material and collect the reaction products therefrom. Many reactions in which^this type of apparatus may be employed to advantage are. strongly endothermic or strongly exothermidthe former necessitating that the reactants be-supplied to the 55 duit Il and sheath'lll along their length at their catalyst or contact material. Other features and advantages of the inven tion will be apparent from an inspection of the' accompanying diagrammatic drawing and from the following description thereof.

In the drawing 2 1 Figure 1 illustrates one specific form of the re` actor tube provided bythe inventionand itis here shown in longitudinal section.'

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same reactor ,tube taken along line 2 2 in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, the outer tube of the assembly here illustrated comprises a pipe or cylindrical tube'of suitable metal or metallic alloy and is closed at its opposite ends by the ground joint, flanged closu're members 4 and 5,' releasably secured to tube 3 bylsuitable bolts -6 threaded into a substantially ring-shaped inward. protruslon I provided at each'end of tube 3.

The core member 8 of the assembly 'is in the case' here illustrated substantially concentric with tube t and spaced from the latter to provide an annular space therebetween within which the bed of'solid granularcatalyst or contact' material 9 is disposed. The core 8 extends toadjacent the opposite ends of tube 3 and comprises an outer sheath 'l0 of suitable metal or metallic alloy (see Figure 2)'. Inletvconduit ,Il and outlet conduit I2 disposedv within the area enclosed by.'

of by .weldingwr in any other suitable manner.

spaced openings i3 are provided thro h con- 2 Y line ot juncture' and similanspaced openings Il are provided through conduit 'i2 and sheath lev along their length at their une of iuneture, the

openings I3r and `I4 being on opposite sides of the core assembly l. Itl is, -of course, withinthe scope o! the invention to provide continuous longitudinal slots along the length of tubes or conduits II and I2 through their walls and through prevent the latter from entering conduits I I and `Heat insulating material, indicated at is, is

' provided within sheath lli about the conduits II and I2 to insulate the conduits from each other and from the bed'oi catalyst or'contact material I. 'I'he insulation may comprise, such materials as asbestos-magnesia, exioliated vermiculite, slag 2q may alsobe inserted from either end.

upper end of tube 3 by removal of closure member'l.

Whenv it is desired to remove and replace the be'd ci catalyst or contact material, closure'members 4 and 5 are unbolted and removed and the catalyst or contact material allowed to drop from tube I through the port provided `at the lower end thereof by removal of closure rnember l5. Closure member 5 may then be replaced and a bed oi' iresh catalyst or contact material built up within the reactor tube by introducing the same to the annular space between tube 3 and the core assembly l through the port at they upper end of tube l. Closuremember 4 may thenbe replaced and the apparatus conditioned for further use.

. In the apparatus illustrated core assembly 8 may be pulled from either the upper or the lower end i of the reactor tube by nrst removing closure vmemberl or closure member 5l and, oi course, it

It wil1,`of course, be understood that the draw- I ing villustrates only one specific embodiment of wool, rock wool, glass wool and the like and may be selected to suit the temperature and other operating conditions to whichit is subjected. It should be noted that the metal sheath It pro tects the insulation iromcontact with the catalyst, reactants and reaction products and that it is 'closed`at its upper and lower ends by the members Il and II1 which are welded or otherwise suitably secured'thereto. Member I8 also closes the upper end of conduit I 2 and member Il closesthe lower end of conduit I I.

Conduit Il protrudes through closure member Il at the upper end of the core assembly 8 and .terminates in a'port provided in the removable the invention. and thatnumerous modifications from the specific form illustrated/will be'apparent andare entirely within the scope of the invention. For example, the-invention specifically contemplates the use of a plurality of reactor tubes such as herein provided, arranged and connected for the parallel dow oi separate streams oireactants 'and-f-resulting 'reaction products therethrough."

' This-may be accomplished by connecting the l'inlet pipes Il and the outlet pipes 20' from the ist closure member d to communicate with an inlet f line Is through which reactants to b'e converted are supplied to the reactor tube. 'Similarly, conduitA i2 protrudes through closure member Il at the-lower end oi the core assembly-8 and terminates in a port provided in closure member 5 to communicate with an outlet line 2l through which fluid reaction products are discharged from the reactor tube. Preferably, conduits Il and are not permanently atllxed to the respective closre.

members 4 and t but slip into the portsprovided In the latter so that members 4' and l may be removed without removing the core assembly l.

Incp'eration,.,uid reactants are supplied to conduit II through inlet line JI and pass as a' plurality ot seperate' streams distributed along `the length ci conduit I I through openings `I8 into y contact with the annular bed of catalyst or conf.

tact material l and the reactants and resulting iluidLreacticn products ilow through'this bed, as indicated by the arrows in Fliure 2, and enterlv thefoutlet conduit I2 through the openings Il, to

`be discharged trom the-lower end th /and from the reactor tube through outlet be reversed, employing. i

e 2l. obviously.. the sow ino linezll and conduit'I for the introduction of@ reactants and conduit Il and line I'l for the removal of reactionprodu'cts. The resistive size 'ot `member 4 may be unbolted and removed witiiout disturbing 'fthe bed or the core asscmbly I and the.. additional catalyst or contact materialgmay be introduced through the port provided 'at the conduit and means for removing duid `from said l site ends-to tube sh folds. On the other hand, the inwardly protruding portions I oi ytube l and the closure members and 5 maylbe omittedand the tubes l rolled l into. welded or other ise secured to their oppots of a heatexchange ype reactor through which suitable convective uid is circulated about the exterior of tubes', Sto sup-l perature 'When such temperature control is not required, a plurality ofreactorl tubes may be manifolded in either of the manners above mentioned to suitable-inlet and outlet headers or compartments and these headersor compartments, as well as ,tubes i, are preferably .covered with .suitable heat-insulating material;

l. In an apparatus for obtainingicontact between a stream oi'iluid and a porous of solid material, an elongated' tubular member, a core member positioned longitudinally withinaid tubular member with 4a space provided, therebetween for; the reception `oi said mass, the core member comprising an -outer metal sheath. a conduit within said sheath for distributing' fluid to said mass, `another conduit within said sheath for collecting uid from said mass, heat-insulatingV material disposed Awithin said sheath about said conduits', means providing communication between each of the conduits and the space be'- tween the tubular member and the core member, means for supplying. iluid-to said distributing collecting conduit.

2. Anl apparatus such'as deiincd in claim 1,

wherein said' distributing.` conduit comprises a tubular member disposed adiacent the wall of said sheath and wherein said collecting conduit comprises another tubular 'member spacedtrom the tlrst named conduit and disposed adjacent the wall of said sheath.

3. An apparatus such as deiined in claim 1, whereinl said sheath comprises a tubular member f substantially' concentric with the rst named tubular member. l

4. An apparatus such s deilned in claim 1, wherein said sheath'comprisesa tubular member and said distributing conduit comprises an'other tubular member disposed within and adjacent the wall of said sheath, said collecting conduit comprising another tubular member disposed within said sheath adjacent the wall thereof and spaced from said collecting conduit. 5. In an apparatus for obtaining contact be. tween a stream of iiuid and a porousmass of s olid material, an elongated metallic tubular member, a metallic sheath disposed longitudinally within said tubular member with anannular space provided therebetween for the recap? tion of said mass, a conduit for distributing iluid to said mass disposed within said sheath and substantially co-extensive therewith, a conduit for 'collecting fluid from said mass disposed within said sheath and substantially co-extensive therewith, heat-insulating material in said sheath between and about said conduits, said conduits v being disposed adjacent diametricalIy opposite sides of said sheath and being provided with longitudinally disposed openings therethrough in registration with longitudinally disposed openings inthe sheath, means for admitting fluid to said distributing conduit and means for directing fluid from said collecting conduit.

6. In an apparatus for obtaining contact be-l tween a stream of iluid and a porousvmass of solid material, an elongated tubular member, va. core member positionedwithin said tubular member tov provide a space therebetween for the reception of said mass, an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit extending longitudinally of said core member, heat-insulating material between said core member, and means conduitsJ within the providing communication between each of the conduits and the space between the core member and said tubular'member.

BERNARD BECKER. 

